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Student learning is the heart of education—understanding what really works and why is essential to fostering and sustaining success. UEI's work addresses questions like what approaches can dramatically improve early literacy, how attendance is critically linked to academic outcomes, and the ways in which different policy decisions have affected student outcomes over time.

Research has shown that teachers who support and challenge students with ambitious instruction are essential for school improvement. With a portfolio that spans from in-depth studies on the successes and flaws of real-world teacher evaluation systems to a teacher education program with 90 percent of graduates remaining in urban schools after five years—far exceeding the national retention rate of 50 percent—UEI works across its different domains to illuminate, model, and share what schools and educators need to succeed.

Effective schooling needs leaders—both inside and outside the classroom—who champion strong supports and sensible accountability for initiatives that matter. UEI's success stories such as Freshmen On Track and the high-achieving UChicago Charter NKO Campus are just two examples that demonstrate the potential impact when systems to monitor and support positive change are helmed by leaders who empower colleagues to make a difference.

Understanding schools as organizations illuminates the mechanisms and high-impact levers that drive school improvement. The Consortium's seminal research found that strength on five essential organizational supports were highly correlated with whether schools continued improving student learning. UEI's work also explores the impact of school closings and turnarounds, school disciplinary policies, and the charter model, while many of UEI's resources are designed to help schools build their organizational capacity to take on the day-to-day challenges of schooling.

Propelling more students to and through high school and college is one of our key pillars for significantly improving schools. As it becomes increasingly clear that receiving a post-secondary education is necessary to prosper in modern society, UEI has amassed resources, expertise, and years of research demonstrating what works in improving high school and college attainment. In 2014, UEI also launched The To&Through Project to empower educators, families, and policymakers with the information they need to support more students on their way through pre-K to 12th grade and on to their bachelor's degrees.

UChicago UTEP works with Chicago public school partners in a number of capacities. We collaborate with the teachers and principals who host our residents to ensure that their classroom-based learning aligns with their coursework and UChicago UTEP’s core practices and values.

In other school partnerships, UChicago UTEP alumni facilitate inquiry groups around particular areas of practice that include their colleagues and other new public school teachers. Our long-term goal is to see each one of our school partners supporting representatives of UChicago UTEP at all levels of the program—tutors, residents, clinical instructors, and emerging teacher-leaders who involve their colleagues in a professional learning community.

Chicago Public Schools, the third largest school district in the country, is recognized by the federal government as a “high-need” district, with large percentages of students achieving below grade level in essential subjects. The racial composition of CPS students is 45 percent African American; 41 percent Latino; 9 percent Caucasian; 3.6 percent Asian/Pacific Islander; 0.2 percent Native American. Approximately 86 percent of students live in low-income families, and 12.2 percent are Limited English proficient.